As far as rumors of U.S. leniency, Elizabeth Kennedy, a Fulbright scholar based in El Salvador who has conducted more than 300 interviews with child migrants and their families, said that information about U.S. policies toward child migrants was largely unknown in Central America until after President Obama spoke publicly about the situation in early June.

“The rumors did not start until Obama called it an urgent humanitarian situation,” she said. “In over 300 interviews, only one asked about DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals]. Otherwise, no one ever named any specific U.S. legislation. Some asked if children should lie about their age and say they were over 18.”